oj simpson

oj simpson

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson is a former American football player (running back), sports commentator and actor currently serving up to 33 years in state prison for a Las Vegas robbery involving sports memorabilia that he claimed had previously been stolen from him. Simpson played for the American Football League's Buffalo Bills where he eventually became the first player to pass the 2,000-yard season mark. His trade in the 1977-1978 offseason to the San Francisco 49ers marked the decline of his playing career which ended after the 1979 season.

Simpson pursued an acting career in the years that followed, with starting roles in Capricorn One, The Towering Inferno, and The Naked Gun series of films. As a sports commentator, Simpson worked on Monday Night Football and provided his insight for the NFL on NBC.

His personal life became a greater source of fame (or infamy) than his sports prowess; Simpson left his wife of 13 years, Marguerite in 1980 and shortly thereafter began dating Nicole Brown, whom he would marry in 1985. The couple had two children, but a rocky relationship led to separations and an eventual divorce in 1992. Nicole Brown Simpson, as she was commonly known, was murdered with a friend, Ronald Goldman, at her home on June 12, 1994, and OJ Simpson was charged in their deaths.

The controversial trial resulted in acquittal of the murders; however, Simpson was unanimously found liable by a jury in a civil case for wrongful death and battery. Simpson's football retirement trust could not be garnished or otherwise attached, so in the years that followed, the family of Mr. Goldman pursued Simpson's assets through various court efforts, including the forced auctioning of his personal property and seizing of appearance fees he attempted to earn.

Simpson believed men had stolen and were attempting to resale his personal sports memorabilia, and arranged to setup a meeting in September 2007 at a Las Vegas hotel-casino called the Palace Station. According to testimony at trial, Simpson and his accomplices took the memorabilia at gunpoint. After police questioning and release, Simpson was arrested within a month all of his co-defendants had made deals to testify against him in the case. The case has been appealed to the highest court in Nevada and all convictions affirmed. The earliest Simpson is eligible for parole is 2017.